Family Ties
by LindaLeeB
Summary: Jack asks about his mommy. One shot story about the McGarrett-Williams Family. Follow-on to Flash Forward series. Ninth in the series.


Disclaimer: Ideas are fictional; not making any money on this. Hawaii 5-0 belongs to CBS. That's okay because none of this would work on TV.

Family Ties

September 2020

It was a quiet Friday night at the McGarrett-Williams house. Everyone was missing Grace since she started college, even though they saw her at least once a week. She usually came home to do her laundry, often bringing at least one classmate who wasn't fortunate enough to have family locally. They would spend some time on the beach before sitting down to a home-cooked meal. Aside from the visits, Grace called her family in the evening to say goodnight to Danno, Steve, and Jack whenever possible.

Steve and Danny noticed that Jack didn't each much for supper; he pushed his food around on his plate instead of shoveling it in like it was his last meal. Danny claimed that Jack got his manners from Steve. Finally, Jack asked to be excused.

"Jack, is everything okay? You don't seem to be too hungry, and you haven't said much since we got home." Danny was still better at picking up the moods of his family than Steve, although Steve wasn't absolutely clueless.

Jack looked at his plate and sighed. It was obvious that Jack had something on his mind and was reluctant to tell his dads about it. Steve pushed his chair back from the table and put his arms out for Jack. When Jack quickly came to him, Steve nodded to Danny and they went to the couch. Now both men could cuddle with Jack.

Gradually, Jack relaxed against Steve's chest. Steve thought that Jack might have dozed off. Jack finally asked the question that had weighed heavily on him since class this morning. "Do I have a mommy?"

Steve and Danny knew that the topic would come up, but they were hoping that Jack would be a little older before he became curious. They had talked how they would handle the issue, but neither really wanted to have this discussion yet. Until today, Jack didn't seem to think it was too odd that he had two dads instead of a mom and a dad.

Danny thought maybe he could answer better because Steve's explanations at times were too long and involved for a seven year old. "Yes, you do. You know how Aunt Kono carried baby Fiona in her belly before she was born. Someone carried you in her belly before you were born."

"But Aunt Kono is Fiona's mommy. She feeds her and plays with her. Did my mommy do that?"

Steve ruffled Jack's hair and sighed. "Oh buddy, I hoped that you would be a little older before you asked that question. No, your mommy didn't do that, but not because she didn't love you. Before you were born, it was just me and Danno and Grace, who was here only part of the time."

Danny took over now. "Daddy and I talked about having a baby, and we thought that we would wait for a year before making the decision. Then one night Daddy told me that he was tired of only getting to be a daddy every other week when Grace was here. He wanted us to have a baby who would stay with us all the time. I wanted that too."

"Danno and I found a really nice lady who agreed to carry you for us since men can't have babies. She and her husband had children and wanted to help another family have a baby. It was really hard for her to say goodbye to you after you were born, but that was our agreement. We send her pictures of you every year on your birthday."

Jack listened to his dad's explanations and tried to make some sense of it. "But Grace and Charlie and Andy have one mom and three dads. Why do I only get two dads and no mom?"

Danny had to laugh. The McGarrett-Williams family were so closely assimilated that Charlie and Andy called Steve 'Daddy Steve' as often as they called him 'Uncle Steve'. They all called Danny by Grace's name for her dad: Danno. "Jack, only Grace has one dads. Uncle Stan and Daddy are her stepdads."

"But Charlie and Andy call you Danno and Daddy Steve."

"That's because Grace calls us that. We're not really their dads. Our families just kind of got mixed together."

"But how did Grace get a mom and I didn't?"

Steve turned Jack so that they could see his face. Neither man guessed their family was so confusing for Jack. They never talked about Danny's previous marriage, or that either of them previously been with women. Danny knew it was time to lay it all out for Jack and hope he would understand.

"Jack, I was married to Grace's mom, your Aunt Rachel, a long time ago. I was a cop in New Jersey where Nana and Poppa live when we met. That's where Grace was born. Aunt Rachel worried a lot about me when I went to work every day. One day, she decided that she couldn't go on being so worried about me. We got a divorce. Then Aunt Rachel married Uncle Stan and moved to Hawaii."

"Why would Aunt Rachel move Grace so far away from you. Didn't you miss her?"

"You bet I did. I moved to Hawaii just so I could be with Grace. A few months later, I met your dad. He was in the Navy back then. He came home for Grandpa McGarrett's funeral. He stayed to help me find out who killed Grandpa."

"Actually Danno, you were helping me. That's when Five-0 started. We needed Uncle Chin because he knew people who could help us. And Aunt Kono helped us too. Anyway, back then Danno and I didn't get along very well."

"You got me shot!"

"I apologized."

Jack giggled when his dads started bickering. This was familiar to him. "But you and Daddy became partners."

Steve put his arm around Danny and drew him close. "Yes Jack, we became partners. And after the first year, Danno and Grace moved in. At first it was because Danno needed a place to stay. Pretty soon, it was because we love each other and didn't want to be apart."

Jack tried to digest the information, but it was a lot for a little boy. "But Aunt Rachel is Charlie and Andy's mom, and they're my brothers. Doesn't that make Aunt Rachel my mommy too?"

Steve knew what to say now. "Jack, there are all kinds of brothers. Some are brothers because they share the same mommy or daddy. Some are brothers in your heart. You know how Uncle Chin and Aunt Kono are our ohana? So are Charlie and Andy. They're brothers in your heart. They don't have any other family living on the island, and neither do you. So when you boys decided among yourselves that you were brothers, we all thought it was a great idea. They stay here a lot, or you go to their house. We're family, and that's all that's important."

"But will I ever get to meet my mommy?"

Steve and Danny weren't sure what to say. Shelley agreed to meet with Jack when he was older if he wanted that. They always assumed that Jack would be older when that happened. None of them wanted Jack to become attached to Shelley. What if Jack decided that he wanted to spend time with Shelley's family? That would be their worst nightmare. They had Jack so that they didn't have to share their child with another parent.

"Yes Jack, when you get a little older, you can meet her if you still want to. Did something happen today at school that's got you curious? It never seemed to bother you before." Danny thought that if they knew what triggered the questions, they might answer Jack better.

"We had to color in a family tree today. The teacher told us to put in our parents' names and any brothers or sisters. I wasn't sure how to put everybody on the tree. Then Mikey asked where my mommy was. I told him that I didn't have a mommy, and he told me that everyone has a mommy. He told me that my mommy probably didn't want me and that's how I got two daddies."

Not for the first time, Danny wanted to strangle another kid. First there was that kid Tommy who filled Grace's head with nonsense. Now this other kid Mikey was doing the same to Jack.

"Jack, it isn't that your mommy didn't want you. This was something she did for Danno and me. We wanted a baby, and she agreed to help us. Even though she doesn't get to see you, she loves you and prays for you every day. Saying goodbye to you in the hospital was probably the hardest thing that she ever did. Every year on your birthday, we send her a picture and write her a letter to tell her how you are doing. She always sends a 'Thank You' card with a little note inside. She writes how she always prays that you're happy and healthy."

"And Jack, you know how much Daddy and I love you. The day you were born was one of the happiest days in our lives. We could hardly sleep that first night. Every time you moved or made a sound, we were up to make sure that you were okay. Do you know how many times you peed on Daddy? He never got mad; he was so proud that you outsmarted him again."

"And Danno insisted that he get up with me for every 2 a.m. feeding, even though I told him that I could do it by myself. He never thought that he would have another baby to love. Jack, no baby was ever more wanted. We love you so much, son."

"I know. I love you too." Jack moved between Steve and Danny so that he could hug both of them.

"So do you think that you could eat a little more supper? Otherwise, you'll be up at 2 a.m. wanting something to eat. Let's go heat up your shrimp." Danny gave Jack one last squeeze and led him back into the kitchen.

Steve put his hand on his forehead and tried to massage away some of the tension. This was the last thing he expected to talk about tonight. When he looked up, Jack was standing there. "Are you coming Daddy? Danno said that it's your turn to clean up the dishes."

"He did, did he? Then I guess I'd better get to it. Are you feeling better?"

"I guess. Some of the kids only have a mommy or a daddy. My friend Patty has two moms. My other friend Jesse says his mom and dad fight all the time. He wishes that his mom and dad would treat each other nice like you and Danno."

"Is that why Jesse likes to come over here so much?" Jesse was over almost as much as Charlie and Andy.

"Yeah, he says the fighting makes his tummy hurt. It doesn't hurt when he stays here."

Steve filed that information away for later consideration as he loaded the dishwasher. Danny sat at the table with Jack while Steve cleaned up. The rest of the weekend passed quickly. Grace came over early enough on Sunday morning to get some of Danny's famous pancakes for breakfast. She was enjoying life on campus and didn't find her classes too difficult. She had almost a dozen credits under her belt due to advanced placement classes, so she could afford to take a lighter course load for her first semester.

Steve and Danny dropped Jack off a little early for school so they could discuss the fallout from last week's assignment. Miss O'Hara was a little young and hadn't thought the impact of the assignment on kids with unusual family configurations. She agreed to give them a heads up before handing out any more 'family' assignments.

Steve drove away from the school and detoured to a scenic lookout along the coast highway. He pulled over and turned the ignition off. "I didn't expect the questions so early Danny. I'm not sure that we said the right things."

Danny reached over to massage the back of Steve's neck. As expected, they were taut with tension. "Babe, I don't think that there was a right answer or wrong answer. Jack seemed fine with our explanations. I suspect he'll mull them over for a while and come back with a few more questions. We can always check in with the family counselor we used after Grace's kidnapping."

"That's probably not a bad idea. Jack said something that bothered me. He said that Jesse's parents fight a lot, enough to make Jesse's sick. Jack doesn't go over to Jesse's house to play, does he?"

"No, the kids always gather at our house. Between the fort and the beach, we've got the magic playground."

"Well, we've always tried to make the kids feel welcome. I like having them around. They make such a happy noise. The house was too quiet for a lot of years, like it was dying. It's alive again. I think Mom and Dad would be pleased."

"I agree. Now, I think it's time for us to go to work. Remember that little elite task force you're in charge of. That means that you really should try to be on time." Danny pulled Steve in for a hug.

Steve gave Danny a hard kiss and started the Camaro up. Steve and Danny knew Jack would eventually have more questions, and both were concerned about Jesse. He has a sweet little boy who always seemed a little hungry for affection. Whenever Jesse spent the night, he held onto Steve and Danny for an extra hug when they tucked the boys in. Now they knew why.


End file.
